Fountain toothbrush



April 30, 1957 A. MASTRANDREA FOUNTAIN TOOTHBRUSH Filed July 9, 1954 Amhony Mas/rana'rea INVENTOR.

United States Patent FOUNTAIN TOOTHBRUSH Anthony Mastrandrea, Westerly, R. 1.

Application July 9, 1954, Serial No. 442,310

1 Claim. (Cl. 15-129) This invention relates to a novel fountain toothbrush which has for its primary object the provision of means for metering tooth paste from a reservoir to the bristles in a smooth and even manner, as may be desired by the user.

The construction of this invention features a fountain toothbrush having a shell forming a reservoir for tooth paste. Associated with the shell is a valve for permitting compressed air to be positioned within the shell so that the tooth paste can be forced from the shell and through a gate valve when the gate valve is open into a chamber formed in a head portion to which bristles are affixed and thence from the chamber through holes or apertures in alignment with the bristles.

Still further objects and features of this invention reside in the provision of a fountain toothbrush that is strong and durable, simple in construction and manufacture, which can be used and reused, while being inexpensive to construct, thereby permitting wide distribution and utilization so that travelers, service men, and the like may conveniently carry tooth paste and a toothbrush in a single article ready for convenient use.

These, together with the various ancillary objects and features of the invention which will become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this fountain toothbrush, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, by way of example only, wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the fountain toothbrush comprising the present invention; and

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view as taken along the plane of line 22 in Figure 1.

With continuing reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, reference numeral generally designates the fountain toothbrush comprising the present invention which includes a substantially cylindrical shell 12 formedof any suitable rigid material and having a suitable valve 14 seated in one end thereof remote from the restricted neck portion 16 of the shell 12. The interior of the shell, as indicated at 18, forms a reservoir for tooth paste 20 and compressed air is adapted to be bled into the shell 12 through the valve 14, as may be desired.

A gate valve including a valve member 22 is provided, the valve member having an aperture 24 therethrough. The gate valve includes an operating button 26 which can be integrally formed with the valve member 12, and a spring 28 is provided which is seated within a recess 30 formed in the neck portion 16 for continuously urging the valve member 24 into a closed position.

When the button 26 is depressed, the aperture 24 will 2,790,190 Patented Apr. 30, 1957 ice be aligned with the restricted passage 32 in the neck portion 16 which communicates with the reservoir 18. This will permit flow of the material contained within the reservoir, such as tooth paste, and caused by the compressed air to pass out of the shell 12 and into a chamber 34 formed in a head portion 36 which is threadedly secured, as at 38, to the shell 12. The neck portion 16 has an externally threaded projection which is received within the internally threaded head portion 36.

Preferably integrally formed with th e head 36 is a conduit 40 which extends inwardly andforwardly in an angular manner so as to enable flow of fluid from a suitable conduit 42 or pipe which is detachably secured thereon into the chamber 34 and thence out of any one of a plurality of holes or apertures 44 formed in the head portion. The apertures 44 will, of course, permit tooth paste to pass therethrough and onto the bristles 46 which form the brush.

The operation of this device is quite simple. Upon depression of the button 26, tooth paste will be forced by the compressed air onto the bristles 46. Then, the toothbrush may be utilized to brush teeth, after which, for rinsing both the mouth of the user and the bristles 46, water can be applied through the conduit 42.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact constructionshown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A fountain toothbrush comprising a hollow shell forming a reservoir for tooth paste, a gate valve mounted in said shell for controlling flow of tooth paste from said shell, said shell having an opening therein, a valve in said opening for permitting application of compressed air into said shell, a brush head having bristles attached thereto secured to said shell, said brush head having a chamber in communication with said reservoir, said gate valve controlling communication between said brush head chamber and said shell, and apertures through said brush head adjacent said bristles for permitting passage from said chamber, said head being threadedly detachably secured to said shell, a fluid inlet conduit integrally formed in said head, and a conduit detachably secured to said inlet conduit, said shell having a restricted neck passageway, said gate valve including a valve member having an aperture therethrough, said valve member normally blocking flow through said restricted neck passageway, said valve member when actuated being positioned with said aperture in alignment with said passageway.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Sussman et a1. Nov. 2, 1943 

